IN HOME CARE – BE WARY, BE INFORMED

It’s a good news/bad news scenario. The good news, you have enough money to have in-home care. The bad news, it’s implementation time — finding the right company or person. This is a slippery slope — especially in South Florida.

Most of us reading this article have never dealt with caregivers —for ourselves or other family members. Questions to keep in mind: Is there a license necessary for this type of work? What happens if the person harms my family member? Is there a background check for the caregiver?

These questions are easily answered if you use a reputable bonded company. A “bonded” company is one who has a “surety bond” and if anything happens to your loved one like theft, maltreatment, or injury, the company cannot hide behind bankruptcy — the bonding company is responsible for payment.

In south Florida many people hire caregivers because a friend recommended him or her or the person had worked for another friend’s family member or its someone just in from Latin America and they need a job. It’s less expensive but it’s dangerous. If there’s theft or maltreatment you have no recourse — these people do not have the means to compensate for their conduct. We’ve all heard stories of stealing, maltreatment of the patient and overall sloth behavior.

One very well known man in Key Biscayne had in-home care for him and his wife. She died and it was just him. The home care folks started taking advantage — eating his food, taking his “change,” purchasing his food (and theirs) and only tending to him when his out of town daughter called to say she was coming to visit. Luckily, his neighbor became suspicious when he found the man disoriented and walking the halls. He took him back to his condo only to find the “helper” watching television and eating — totally unaware the patient had left. He chastised the employee, called the daughter and put an end to the in-home care.

Bottom line – you do not want your family members in the care of people who don’t care. The safest thing anyone can do is call a reputable company and pay the extra $2.00 or $3.00 an hour that a bonded company would charge.

Parenting Your Parents partners with ComforCare — not only do they have well trained caregivers but, if you qualify, they can find you free in-home care! Contact us if you need us. hfrancesr@parentingyourparents.guru.